Poker Night
by Mari Nighthaze
Summary: When Ryou and Bakura stop at an inn for the night, Ryou is roped into a game of cards. Too bad he doesn't know how to play Poker. But, wait, is that a bad thing? Set in the 'Treasure' universe.


The 'Treasure' universe was just too much fun to play with for me to ignore. So when this little plot bunny began to bounce around in my head I really had no choice but to write it. This is set a couple of months after the events of 'Treasure'. You don't have to read that to read this, but it might make a bit more sense if you do.

Disclaimer: The plot of this story is mine. All recognizable characters are not.

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The inn was small, out of the way, and shady-looking. It was the kind of place that petty criminals would get together to play cards and drink, and where prostitutes would gather, waiting for the cover of night and shooting sultry looks at potential clients. It was the kind of place that Ryou never even would have thought existed just a few months ago when he was living in the palace, let alone set foot in.

Truth be told, he wasn't exactly comfortable in less-than-reputable inns like this, Ryou thought as he shrunk away from the sets of eyes that had been sizing him up from the minute he'd walked through the door.

But Bakura was there, and as Ryou looked up at his silver-haired lover standing next to him and boldly staring down anyone who even glanced their way he knew that as long as he could be with Bakura he'd be happy sleeping on the streets, let alone this place.

"Ryou." The call of his name was almost silent, but Ryou heard it and looked up to meet Bakura's gaze. At his confident smirk, the former prince felt himself relaxing slightly.

"Yes, Bakura?"

The thief led him over to a table, speaking quietly in his ear as they walked. "I'm going to get us a room for the night. I'll be back in a minute; stay here, don't draw attention to yourself, and _don't make eye contact, _okay?"

"Alright," Ryou nodded, swallowing nervously as he sat down. Bakura, sensing his distress, gently ran a comforting hand through his hair.

"You'll be fine." Bakura looked down at him, his expression softened into the gentle smile he only ever showed to Ryou. Ryou smiled back, a warm feeling spreading through his chest at the look he only rarely got to see. Bakura passed one more fleeting touch over his hair, and then he was gone, striding confidently around tables and drunken patrons.

Ryou folded his hands on the table and kept his gaze firmly glued to his fingers. Now that Bakura was gone, he could feel the gazes returning, and he knew what they were seeing. His skills lay mostly with math, politics, and history: things he learned from books. He could admit that he was on the scrawny side, and though Bakura had been teaching him how to fight while they'd been travelling, he hadn't been doing that well.

All in all, he might as well have 'Please beat the shit out of me, take all of my money, and leave me bleeding in an alleyway' tattooed across his forehead. Ryou leaned further over the table, letting his bangs fall across his face. Maybe he should just go after Bakura; staying alone didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

Just as he was about to get up, a shadow fell across the table. Ryou stiffened, but kept his head down.

"Oi, kid."

'_Don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact," _he chanted mentally, keeping his head down and praying that whoever it was would go away if he didn't acknowledge him.

"Oi, kid!"

Ryou flinched at the rough, impatient tone, and slowly looked up. A tall, buff man with a bottle of rum in one hand and a deck of cards in the other was standing over him.

"Y-yes?"

"We're playin' poker, and we need another player," the man grinned, revealing cracked and yellowed teeth. "Ya look like ya got money, kid. Why don'tcha join us?"

Ryou got the feeling that that hadn't been a request. He turned, looking hopefully at the doorway through which Bakura had disappeared, but his boyfriend was nowhere to be found. Slowly, he got up and began to follow the other man to a table filled with guys that were just as terrifying as the first.

Gulping, Ryou began to contemplate his chances of survival if he just made a run for it. He didn't even have that much money on him. In the first few weeks of him and Bakura being together, Ryou had been mugged. Of course, Bakura had been livid and the mugger's body probably still hadn't been fished out of the river. That was when Bakura began teaching Ryou how to fight, as well as when he started to handle most of the money.

He did have some, but that was mostly for emergencies and not nearly enough for him to die over, though he was beginning to fear that that was how his new tablemates were expecting to end the situation.

Then again, they were probably so confident that they'd crush him that they didn't care if it was a bit less than they usually got. This really wasn't a good idea; Ryou didn't get to play poker very often, and he didn't want to let Bakura down even more. Maybe he should just-

"You sit 'ere, kid," the man pushed Ryou into one of the two empty chairs, taking the other for himself, and all of the sudden the former prince was surrounded. So much for escaping. It seemed like he'd just have to try to hold his own until Bakura came back.

"Please hurry, Bakura," Ryou whispered pleadingly as he accepted his hand.

.

Bakura walked back into the common area, completely at ease among the ruffians and thugs. Their room for the night had been secured, and after some… _convincing, _they had also gotten a free meal. Ryou would be happy.

Ryou. He smiled slightly to himself at the thought of his little prince. It was amazing how much better everything seemed with Ryou by his side. That kind smile and joyful laugh somehow made his life worthwhile.

And speaking of his beloved,Bakura frowned when he reached the table he'd left Ryou at. The _empty _table. He felt a cold trickle of dread gather in the pit of his stomach as his mind began to conjure up images of all the horrible things that could have happened to Ryou while he was gone.

His extensive experience with gore and horror wasn't being particularly helpful.

He hadn't wanted to leave Ryou alone, but innkeepers were notorious gossips and with Ryou's father still looking for him the less people that saw him the better. Now he was wishing he'd come up with a better plan.

Just as Bakura was about to begin his version of panicking, i.e., threatening to murder everyone in the room until they told him what happened to Ryou, he heard a dissatisfied shout come from the other side of the room. Instinctively, he turned, his well-trained senses trying to identify a threat. Instead he saw something that almost had him falling over in shock.

A small group of men were gathered around a poker table, staring in disbelief between their cards and the large pile of winnings that was lying at one end of the table. And seated behind it, a pleasant smile on his face, was Ryou.

"This is fun! Do you guys want to play another round?" Bakura heard him ask as he walked closer. The other men glared and muttered angrily about beginners luck as they accepted the challenge. Each of them pushed the rest of their money, not that they had very much left, into the center, and the cards were dealt.

Bakura couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Ryou frowning pensively down at his cards. Since when was Ryou good at poker? Sure, they'd played Gin Rummy and War back at the palace and Ryou hadn't been too bad, but he didn't even think Ryou knew how to play poker, let alone be able to win enough hands to get that much money from these card sharks.

He walked up behind Ryou, intent on dragging the younger man away before the others got violent. He ended up almost choking on air when he saw Ryou surreptitiously slide a few cards out of his sleeve and tuck a different few up it. Then, with an innocent smile, he displayed his cards.

"Royal Straight Flush!"

Ryou wasn't winning because he was lucky; he was _cheating! _The other players all groaned in defeat while Bakura stared at his lover and tried to decide whether to be horrified or proud.

Either way, he had to get Ryou out of there before his tablemates got wise about how he'd cleaned them out. He quickly strode forward the last few steps and placed a hand on Ryou's shoulder.

"Time to go."

Ryou looked up, his instinctive fear at being snuck up on giving way to relief when he saw who it was. Then he seemed to remember Bakura's original instructions and bit his lip. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Bakura shook his head. "It's fine. But I think you've won enough money for today. Let's go."

Ryou nodded, scooping up his winnings as quickly as he could while Bakura began to drag him away from the table. It wasn't until they were safely in their room that he spoke.

"What were you thinking?"

The pale haired boy looked down at the ground, clutching his bag of coins in his hand. "I'm sorry, I know you told me not to talk to anyone, but the guy was really scary and I didn't want to antagonize him by-"

Bakura sighed and put a hand over Ryou's mouth to stop his profusion of apologies. "That's not what I meant; I knew that wasn't your fault. I meant with the cards, and how you were using your sleeves. Don't you know that it's dangerous to do stuff like that when playing against people like them?"

Ryou cocked his head, looking both relieved that Bakura wasn't mad and confused about what he said. He removed the hand from his mouth so he could speak.

"What do you mean? That's what Joey would do whenever he and the other guards were gambling at the palace, and he always did well. Isn't that how you play?"

Complete silence fell as Bakura stared, dumbfounded, at Ryou. There was no way. It couldn't be possible.

Ryou had cheated all of those thugs out of their money, and he didn't even _know?_

Bakura suddenly stepped back, doubling over as his shoulders began to shake. Ryou's eyes widened and he ran forward.

"Bakura? Bakura, are you okay?"

And then Bakura threw his head back and started to laugh. His eyes shone with mirth, and if Ryou wasn't so confused he would have been awed at the pure amusement and joy that graced his lover's face. As it was, his befuddlement only seemed to make Bakura laugh harder.

Eventually he managed to catch his breath and stop laughing. He looked up at Ryou from where he was still hunched over, his gaze half-hidden beneath his bangs in a way that made Ryou flush red.

All at once, Bakura straightened up, grabbed Ryou and pulled him into a kiss. The younger boy yelped in surprise before relaxing, arms moving to twine around Bakura's neck as the older boy lifted a hand to cup his cheek. Slowly, Bakura pulled back, choosing instead to press their foreheads together and meet Ryou's gaze.

"Ryou," he said softly, amusement still coloring his tone as he grinned, "no matter what happens, don't ever change."

Confused once again, Ryou opened his mouth to ask a question. But when Bakura leaned down to kiss him once more, he decided that he didn't really need to know the answer after all.

* * *

You'll probably see more one and two-shots set in this universe as the spirit moves me. Until then!


End file.
